Lucia novel · Chapter 10 of 24

Chapter 10: The Standoff at the Gate

I did not sleep.

I sat on the edge of the narrow bed with Tobin's sword across my knees and listened to the fort breathe.

He slept with his bandaged shoulder up, his face turned to me, one hand open on the blanket.

At first light there was a knock, light and polite.

"Captain Garrick," a voice said through the door. "The Chancellor requires you at the gate."

Tobin was awake instantly.

He sat up, winced, and reached for his coat.

"Don't," I said.

"If I don't go, it's an insult."

"If you go, it's a trap."

"Probably." He grinned at me, crooked. "I'll bring the sword."

We went down together.

The yard was grey and cold.

In the middle of it sat Montalban on his white horse, with the fifty royal guards drawn up in a half circle behind him.

At the gate, the garrison had assembled without being called.

All eighty of them stood shoulder to shoulder, with picks and axes and kitchen knives, silent in the dawn.

Their breath rose in a white cloud.

"Captain," Montalban said pleasantly. "The king wishes you to travel to Vellora ahead of the princess. You will be escorted. For your safety."

"No."

"It is an order from the crown."

"I'm not leaving my post with the pass open and three men dead," Tobin said. "I'll come with my wife at Midsummer. Not before."

"You will come now."

The guards drew their swords in one long metallic whisper.

Two of them stepped forward and took Tobin by the arms.

"Let him go!" I shouted.

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